Globe launches Wimax access to public elementary schools

SIX public elementary schools in Cebu are now connected to high-speed mobile broadband Internet through Globe Telecom’s Wimax service.

The project is part of Globe’s Internet in Schools Program (ISP), one of the major education initiatives of the company. The program uses Globe broadband to provide free Internet for one year to applicable public schools in the country.

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The elementary schools given Internet connection are Banilad Elementary School, Barrio Luz Elementary School, City Central Elementary School, Kamputhaw Elementary School, Lahug Elementary School and Zapatera Elementary School.

The launching of the ISP for elementary schools and the turnover ceremony was held at the Zapatera Elementary School yesterday.

ISP is also Globe’s response to the national program called Gearing Up Internet Literacy and Access for Students (Gilas).

Information

Jeffrey Tarayao, head of Globe’s corporate social responsibility initiatives, said that this is the first time Wimax will be connected to elementary schools.

More than a thousand public schools nationwide have been given Internet connection since the project’s launching in 2000 in Cebu in Tayud National High School.

The high-speed Internet connection provided to elementary schools, Tarayao said, will allow students and teachers have easy access on information useful in enhancing the learning process among students.

He added that they have selected the six schools based on the roll-out facility of the technology in the area.

Wimax, or the Worldwide interoperability for microwave access, is a standards-based technology designed to enable the deployment of wireless broadband access as a cost-efficient alternative to cable and DSL.

Globe tested Wimax in 2005 and began the rollout in 2008. The Wimax network was launched in Cebu in February last year. It now covers more than a hundred key broadband markets nationwide.

Research

Cebu City schools division superintendent Dr. Rhea Mar Angtud lauded Globe’s ISP for elementary schools saying that this would help students in research and social networking.

Aside from the schools’ connection to Wimax, Globe also provided five computers each to the selected schools. Tarayao said that connecting six schools makes ISP cover 2,002 public schools since 2000.